Dell refusing refund on faulty brand new laptop

[tornado alley]

I'm having a nightmare with Dell who are refusing to refund on a laptop that was faulty on arrival.

 

The purchase was an essential replacement to an outgoing (dead laptop)

and I had to buy as a 'Business User' as the Win7 Pro OS was only available on the business part of their site.

The Dell laptop arrived faulty straight out of the box upon first boot-up (Touchpad not working).

 

To cut a long story short, the laptop is not fit for its intended purpose.

I allowed a more than reasonable window of several days for Dell to try to remotely fix the laptop.

Staff were slow, incorrect recovery discs had been shipped with the laptop,

departments were clearly not communicating and dates and deadlines missed.

No fix was found.

 

With my work on stop being in laptop limbo,

I put in a written (email) request for an immediate replacement unit to be shipped.

This was ignored / not actioned.

 

I then gave notice by email that if I couldn't be provided with an immediate replacement unit

I would be forced to buy a working laptop from elsewhere and to claim a refund.

More promises, more lack of action, and so I had to buy a new laptop to get my work life back on track 7 days after delivery.

 

Amazingly I am now being told by Dell 'UK Sales Operations' having allegedly referred my case to the 'Quality and Legal Team':

"As a business user, and in accordance with the terms above Dell is not in a position to take back system for refund."

 

And quoting Section 9 Warranty of their Business T&Cs:

euro.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/emea/topics/footer/terms?c=uk&l=en&cs=ukdhs1#privacy

 

Surely me making this purchase as a 'Business User' (not out of choice, but out of necessity)

doesn't mean that I'm not protected by the Sale Of Goods Act and able to claim a refund for goods that are clearly not fit for purpose?

 

I now have absolutely no need for this faulty Dell laptop, or even a fully working Dell laptop.

I had no option but to move forward with another laptop from another supplier.

But I do need the near £700 refunded to my credit card!

 

I'd like to add (in the hope that other potential customers take note) that Dell customer services have been absolutely diablolical to deal with from the start

- all overseas staff with no accountablity, no power (or willingness) to action anything and shocking communication skills.

I submitted a complaint through the Dell online complaints form which promises a reaction within 24 hours, and still nothing 36 hours on.

 

I'm writing to Head Office next but would like to be sure I'm not hindered in any way by being a 'Business User'?

 

Any advice gratefully received!

[dx100uk]

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

 

dx

[uneverdid]

hi whilst you are fighting for your cash back from Dell as you paid by credit card I'm sure you have cover with them for them to credit your account give the bank a call

[tornado alley]

Thanks dx100uk and uneverdid for the advice.

 

I contacted Barclaycard a few days ago and hope / expect they will back me fully on this. Apparently it may take a month or so to resolve.

 

Despite this I would still like to make a point of writing to Dell Head office. I think its shocking that they deliver sub standard product and customer service while trying to hold a customer to ransom, withholding funds and causing easily avoidable issues with my work life.

 

Am I right in thinking that quoting the Sale Of Goods Act in my letter and also mentioning that I will be informing Trading Standards should be sufficient to get Dell to spring into some satisfactory action? Who knows, maybe a voluntarily return of my funds and an apology for starters. If the noise I create can make a small difference to how they treat future customers and / or forewarn potential customers of what they currently risk by purchasing from Dell, then my work here will be done!

[dx100uk]

yes i would think it will help lots

 

dx

[pmhcfc]

Any idea how I can get the ball rolling with a similar problem? - That's to say, are there email addresses out there where I can get straight to the top or someone just underneath that?

 

Cheers

[porkyp1g]

From the UK Government

 

"Notices [i.e. clauses in terms and conditions] CAN be used to exclude or restrict

statutory rights in relation to all goods when buyers are other than consumers (business buyers, companies) – although any such exclusion or restriction must be reasonable."

 

It is the supply of goods and services act of 1982 that applies. It DOES apply to business sales, but does not give the business buyer as much protection as a consumer.

 

The act states:

 

"Where, under such a contract, the transferor transfers the property in goods in the course of a business, there is an implied condition that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality.(2A)For the purposes of this section and section 5 below, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances."

 

I don't think that a brand new laptop being faulty is reasonable, so I think they should have taken steps to help you. What did they offer in the beginning? Did they offer to replace? With the touchpad not working, did you check if it was disabled or turned off (probably, but thought I'd ask out of interest).